


Earth Customs

by Nehszriah



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Prompt Fic, Schmoop, give this man something stronger than tea, math was done for the sake of a joke, poor Dave Oswald, respectfully mentions Danny and Pinkwald, walking in on daughter and her intergalactic boytoy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-02
Updated: 2016-02-02
Packaged: 2018-05-17 19:27:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5882701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nehszriah/pseuds/Nehszriah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From a prompt on tumblr: Twelve & Clara hanging out with Dave Oswald + Twelve ends up asking Clara's dad for her hand in marriage</p>
            </blockquote>





	Earth Customs

Dave Oswald had thought it would be fun at first, telling Clara that his train was delayed when really he had just arrived in London. He had the spare key to her flat, meaning that he didn’t need her to let him in, so he imagined surprising her with his on-time appearance, or even be waiting there when she got home. It _should_ have been fun and a laugh and all that, except he walked in on more than he bargained for.

There was his daughter sitting on her kitchen counter, tongue in the mouth of a grey-haired man as she clenched his hips with her knees. Dave dropped his carry-on bag with his mouth agape, not knowing what to say, which caught the couple’s attention.

“Dad, I…!” Clara gasped, pushing her gentleman away and rushing over to her father. “I thought you said you were running late!”

“It was a joke, so I could surprise you, but I don’t know who is more surprised now,” he replied, hugging her. He then glanced over at the stranger, who was now red in the face and standing almost sheepishly in the corner. “…and you are?”

“The Doctor; it’s nice to see you again, Dave,” he said, holding out his hand.

“Sorry, I can’t ever remember having met you before,” Dave said.

“Yeah, well, let’s say I’ve been through a bit since that Christmas.”

Pausing, Dave stared at the Doctor, then at Clara, then the Doctor again, squinting as he looked the man over.

“You’re a completely different person.”

“Same software, Dad; different hardware,” Clara said gently. “The Doctor isn’t Swedish, nor an actual Doctor, let alone a human—he’s a human-ish alien from outer space, and him and I are dating. Was gonna tell you soon, but I guess now’s a good a time as ever.”

“Alien from outer space…!” Dave snorted. “Honey, I’m not an idiot—just tell me _why_ and _how come_ you’re dating a man my age and I’ll get used to it.”

“She’s telling the truth,” the Doctor said. He approached Dave and pointed at his chest, over his left heart. “Listen.” Dave did, awkwardly placing his ear against the Doctor’s chest. It seemed like a normal heartbeat, so he stared at him, eyebrows (thick, like Clara’s) furrowed suspiciously. Only after the Doctor motioned for him to listen to his right heart did Dave’s eyes grow wide.

“Two hearts…”

“…as well as a couple other extra bits and bobs that have allowed me to live across thirteen different faces, including this one, for over two thousand years… well, Earth years. It’d be over three thousand three hundred Venusian years, give or take concerning the whole spat over calendars that this planet seems to have every so often…”

“…so you see Dad: this is my boyfriend, the Doctor.”

“Not your boyfriend,” the alien in-question reiterated.

“We’ve gone over this,” she fired back, completely forgetting that her father was still in the room. “What do you want to be then? Manfriend? Boytoy? Fuck-buddy?”

“Anyone who thinks that we’re something as grossly casual and full of lies as _fuck-buddies_ really needs to step back and examine their own worldview…”

“I’m going to sit down,” Dave announced. Clara then snapped back to the situation at-hand and made sure her dad took a seat on the couch before scurrying back to the kitchen to make tea. Before long, the three were having some warm, sweet chamomile in an awkward, stuffy silence.

“I’ll be right back,” Clara said eventually. She put down her cup and powerwalked to the bathroom, where she shut herself inside and proceeded to panic.

“That’s probably going to give us at least twenty minutes,” the Doctor mumbled into his tea. He was sitting in the armchair, while Dave was on the couch.

“Fifteen if she already had worked out this scenario before,” the other man nodded. He looked over at the Doctor and tilted his head. “So… you’re from space.”

“The planet Gallifrey, in the constellation Kasterborous.”

“…isn’t that the wrong definition of a constellation?”

“That’s just the closest word you have on Earth to it—still a grouping of stars, but the connotation’s a bit different.”

“I see.”

Silence again.

“Dave… if I can call you ‘Dave’…”

“Go ahead; can’t get any weirder.”

“Dave, can I ask you something?”

“Sure; what is it?” It wasn’t like things could get much worse, in his opinion.

“I am fully aware that Clara makes her own decisions and that people telling her what to do is not high on her list of things she likes, which is part of why her and I get on so well…”

“…and…?”

“…and…” The Doctor breathed—inhale, exhale—and steadied his nerves. “…and it’s old-fashioned even by your standards, but I want to know if you’d be alright with me asking for her hand.”

“You mean, marriage? You want to propose?” Dave wondered. The way the alien blushed and averted his eyes gave him all the answer he needed. “The way I understand things, you’re a nearly-immortal, super-powerful alien who has been across all of time and space; I should almost be asking _you_ to marry my daughter.”

“She has a brilliant mind, but I want to do things right in her way, the way humans do things in her time,” the Doctor replied. “I care about her an incredible amount, to the point where I did my best to help her get Danny back.”

Dave sat in silence, not having heard that name in a long time. Clara had been so distraught then that his mother had spent months in the flat helping her get through things. They were still in contact then?

“Even though you love her, you were willing to let her be with Danny?”

“Danny and I didn’t like one another at first, but I at least had a certain level of respect for him by the end,” the Doctor explained, his voice low. “He didn’t mind Clara spending time with me, though I can’t speak for him, and I saw that he could give her earthly things I couldn’t or would have a hard time giving. Danny’s gone, and although I can’t replace him, I’d like to try doing what I can where he would have been.” He stared at his hands, folded together in nervousness. “Mr. Pink knows I’m taking care of her, and she’s taking care of me, and I owe it to him to tend to my duty of care in the best ways possible.”

“If she’ll have you, then she’s all yours,” Dave said. “My only request is I get to see any grandchildren you two give me on a regular basis.”

The Doctor grinned at him and waited until Clara came back from the bathroom to take her by the hand and go down on one knee.


End file.
